Does Zero Water Filter Remove Minerals

While most people become their drinking h2o from public water supplies, more than 13 million households in the The states rely on private wells for their drinking water. Well water tin can absorb many dissimilar compounds from the surrounding soil — and when levels of compounds like sulfur get too loftier, you'll need to filter information technology. If you're dealing with high levels of sulfur in your drinking supply, larn how to remove sulfur from well h2o.

What Is Sulfur and How Does It Get in Well Water?

Sulfur is a naturally occurring chemical compound. There are ii sources of sulfur in well water – sulfates and hydrogen sulfide gas.

Sulfates are a type of common salt that contains sulfur. They may be in the soil and rocks surrounding your well. As groundwater and rainwater seep through the soil and rocks, they can behave sulfates into your well water.
Hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S) tin can happen naturally when plants or other organic material decays. It tin also be related to pollution in the water. And when sulfur bacteria feed on sulfates in well water, they tin create H2S. You'll need to remove the H2S from your h2o and vent the gas from low-lying spaces around your well.

Is Sulfur Harmful?

Information technology depends on the level of sulfates or hydrogen sulfide in the water. In small amounts, these things don't cause a problem.

Likewise much sulfate tin can cause diarrhea and aridity. It tin also have a biting gustation, clog your pipes with slime and stain your laundry.

Too much H2S causes a rotten egg odor in well water. In big amounts, information technology can exist poisonous and lead to nausea and disease — just this is more likely to happen from breathing the gas than from drinking h2o. H2S can too corrode pipes and stain your utensils.

How Can I Tell If My Well Water Has Sulfur?

There are a few means to tell if you have a sulfur problem:

Odor or taste — Sulfur has a distinctive smell like to rotten eggs, and sulfates can give water a bitter taste. If your well h2o has sulfur in it, you may notice an unpleasant smell or odd gustatory modality.
Slime or stains — Sulfur bacteria can exit black stains or a white, grey, black or reddish-brown slime on silverware or plumbing.
Water tests — Get your well water tested every year, fifty-fifty if you lot don't notice signs of sulfur or other problems. Y'all tin can observe several different h2o testing kits online or in stores. But to ensure accurate results, find a country-certified laboratory to do the tests. And cheque with your local health section first, in case they provide these tests for free.

How Tin I Remove Sulfur From My Well Water?

There are many options for removing sulfur from your well water. The best option for you volition depend on the source of the sulfur, how serious the problem is and how much you're able to spend. Options include:

Activated carbon filtration — Activated carbon filters use small pieces of porous carbon (like charcoal) to attract chemicals in h2o and filter them out. You can install an activated carbon filtration organization as a depression-price and low maintenance solution to remove a low concentration of sulfur — but information technology won't handle loftier concentrations of sulfur.
Aeration treatment — This is a depression-toll and safety solution that adds air to the water. This process may reduce the hydrogen sulfide to acceptable levels, merely may not become rid of it completely. And it won't kill sulfur bacteria.
Chlorine bleach — Y'all can inject chlorine bleach into your water before filtration. This is a depression-cost solution that can finer remove medium-to-high levels of hydrogen sulfide from your water. But this method isn't fast-acting, and it too adds sodium to the h2o and can go out toxic residue.
Potassium permanganate — You can use potassium permanganate solution in combination with a special blazon of filter to remove sulfur particles. This process gets rid of several odors, only it can exist toxic and may leave your water looking pink.
Hydrogen peroxide — This is a fast and rubber solution that leaves no chemic remainder and no gustation in the h2o. Simply an almanac supply of peroxide may be expensive, so it'south not every bit common in private dwelling water systems.
Ozone gas — This is also a fast and safe solution that leaves no chemical residue. But ozone systems are expensive, and they add gases to the water that you then need to vent.

If you own a private well, or are thinking of putting ane in, check in with your local health section about maintenance procedures to make certain your water is safe for everyday use. Many health departments offering free h2o testing to cheque the levels of sulfur and other compounds — and they tin provide more detailed advice about the all-time filtration methods.

Resource Links

"Hydrogen Sulfide and Sulfur Bacteria in Well H2o" via Minnesota Department of Wellness
"Hydrogen Sulfide and Sulfate in Individual Drinking H2o Wells" via University of Massachusetts Amherst
"Individual Drinking Water Wells" via U.Due south. Environmental Protection Agency